The story
Palo Volador Chichicastenango in Chichicastenango
The Palo Volador is a pre-Hispanic ritual in which dancers costumed as monkeys and a jaguar descend a tall wooden pole on ropes wound around their waists and ankles, performed in Chichicastenango's plaza as the centerpiece of the town's December fiesta. The imagery reenacts an episode from the Popol Vuh in which two brothers are transformed into monkeys, linking the descent to a specific Maya creation story rather than generic acrobatics.
The Palo Volador is a pre-Hispanic pole-descent ritual performed in only a handful of Guatemalan towns, among them Chichicastenango, Joyabaj, and Cubulco, each on its own local schedule tied to a patron saint fiesta.